April WPI inflation falls to -0.92%, lowest in 34 months

New Delhi: India’s wholesale inflation fell to a 34-month low in April, led by easing of prices of food, fuel and manufactured items, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry showed on Monday. The wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation was at (-) 0.92% April compared with 1.34% in March and at 15.38% in April last year has been on a declining trend for 11 months in a row and entered the negative zone in April.

This is the first time since July 2020 that the WPI-based inflation has turned negative. In June 2020, WPI was at (-) 1.81%. It is also the eleventh consecutive month of decline in WPI-based inflation which peaked at a 20-year high of 16.63% in May 2020.

The decline in the rate of inflation in April was mainly due to a fall in the prices of basic metals, food products, mineral oils, textiles, non-food articles, chemical & chemical products, rubber & plastic products, and paper & paper products, the commerce ministry said.

The food index eased to 0.17% in April from 2.32% in March. For primary articles, the inflation rate cooled to 1.60 % in April from 2.40% in March. Fuel & power inflation slowed to 0.93% in April from 8.96% in March and 13.96% in February.

India’s retail inflation eased to an 18-month low in April, remaining comfortably below the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance limit for the second consecutive month, driven by a decline in food prices.